Refrigerator having basket lift apparatus

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator having a basket lift apparatus comprises a body having a cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, a lifting frame mounted at the door to be movable up and down and on which a basket is positioned, and a buffer installed at the door for attenuating a shock generated when the basket is lowered.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a basket liftapparatus, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a basket liftapparatus capable of enhancing a user's convenience by lifting a basketreceived in a body.

2. Description of the Conventional Art

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator in accordance withthe conventional art, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a lower regionof a refrigerator showing a state that a basket is received in a body.

The conventional refrigerator comprises a body 102 having an openedfront side and a receiving space, an upper cooling chamber 106 arrangedat an upper side of the body 102 and having a pair of upper doors 104openable towards both directions for storing chilled food, and a lowercooling chamber 112 arranged at a lower side of the body 102, separatedfrom the upper cooling chamber 106 by a partition wall 108, and having alower door 110 openable in a slidable manner.

A mechanical chamber 116 having a compressor 114 for generating cool airsupplied to the upper cooling chamber 106 and the lower cooling chamber112, etc., is installed at a rear side of the body 102.

A basket 120 for storing food is arranged at the lower cooling chamber112 to be slidable back and forth, and the lower door 110 is fixed to afront side of the basket 120. Accordingly, when the lower door 110 ispulled, the basket 120 is opened. Also, when the lower door 110 ispushed, the basket 120 is closed. A guide rail 124 is installed betweenthe basket 120 and an inner side surface of the lower cooling chamber112 thereby to guide the basket 120 to be slidable back and forth.

A plurality of drawers 126 for storing food are provided at an upperside of the basket 120 and are opened in a slidable manner.

In the conventional refrigerator, when the lower door 110 is pulled inorder to take food stored in the lower cooling chamber 112 out or inorder to store food in the lower cooling chamber 112, the basket 120 isopened by a slide motion. Also, when the lower door 110 is pushed aftertaking the food stored in the basket 120 out or storing food in thebasket 120, the basket 120 is closed by a slide motion.

However, in the conventional refrigerator, since the position of thebasket is low, a user has to bend his waist or crouch at the time ofstoring food in the basket or taking the food out of the basket therebyto have inconvenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide arefrigerator having a basket lift apparatus capable of enhancing auser's convenience by lifting a basket arranged at a body when thebasket is drawn out.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeratorhaving a basket lift apparatus capable of attenuating a shock generatedwhen a basket is lowered by installing a buffer.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,there is provided a refrigerator comprising a body having a coolingchamber; a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber; a liftingframe mounted at the door to be movable up and down and on which abasket is positioned; and a buffer installed at the door for attenuatinga shock generated when the basket is lowered.

The refrigerator further comprises a driving unit for lifting thelifting frame. The driving unit comprises a lifting arm contacting alower surface of the lifting frame and hinge-connected to the door forlifting the lifting frame, and a driving motor for generating a drivingforce to rotate the driving arm.

The buffer comprises a cylinder fixed to the door and containing fluidtherein, a piston movably arranged in the cylinder and having a fluidchannel through which the fluid passes and a flow resistance isgenerated therein, and an operation rod connected to the piston andcontacting the lifting frame.

The buffer further comprises a spring for providing an elastic force tothe operation rod along a direction that the operation rod is extended.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator in accordance withthe conventional art;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a lower region of a refrigerator showing astate that a basket is received in a body;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a lateral view showing a basket lift apparatus of therefrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the basket lift apparatus of therefrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a frontal view showing the basket lift apparatus of therefrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a buffer according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state that a basket of the basket liftapparatus of the refrigerator according to the present invention hasbeen lifted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to thepresent invention, and FIG. 4 is a lateral view showing a basket liftapparatus of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a body 10having a receiving space, an upper cooling chamber 14 arranged at anupper side of the body 10 and having a pair of upper doors 12 to beopenable towards both directions, a lower cooling chamber 18 arranged ata lower side of the body 10 and separated from the upper cooling chamber14 by a partition wall 16, and a basket 20 arranged at the lower coolingchamber 18 to be slidable back and forth for storing food, and a basketlift apparatus for lifting the basket 20 upwardly.

The upper cooling chamber 14 is preferably used as a refrigeratingchamber for storing chilled food, and the lower cooling chamber 18 ispreferably used as a freezing chamber for storing frozen food.

A door 22 movable in back and forth directions of the body 10 fordrawing the basket 20 out is arranged at a front side of the lowercooling chamber 18. Also, a plurality of drawers 24 drawn back and forthfor storing food are provided at an upper side of the lower coolingchamber 18.

A pair of guide rails 26 are installed between both side surfaces of thelower cooling chamber 18 and a rear surface of the door 22, therebyguiding the door 22 to be slidable in back and forth directions of thebody 10.

The guide rail 26 comprises a fixed rail 26 a fixed to both sidesurfaces of the lower cooling chamber 18, a middle rail 26 b slidablyconnected to the fixed rail 26 a, and a movable rail 26 c slidablyconnected to the middle rail 26 b and fixed to a rear surface of thelower door 22.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the basket lift apparatus comprises a liftingframe 30 arranged at a rear surface of the lower door 22 to be movableup and down and loading the basket 20 thereon, a driving unit 32 fordriving the lifting frame 30 up and down, and a buffer 70 installed atthe door 22 for attenuating a shock generated when the lifting frame 30is lowered.

A lifting rail 34 is installed at a rear surface of the door 22 therebyto support the lifting frame 30 to be movable up and down. An upperstopper 38 and a lower stopper 40 are mounted at an upper end and alower end of the lifting rail 34 thereby to prevent the lifting frame 30from being detached from the door 22.

The driving unit 32 comprises a driving arm 42 having one endroll-contacting a lower surface of the lifting frame 30 to be movableback and forth and another end rotatably mounted at the rear surface ofthe door 22, a driving motor 44 fixed to the rear surface of the door 22for generating a driving force to rotate the driving arm 42, and adriving power transmitting unit for transmitting a rotation forcegenerated from the driving motor 44 to the driving arm 42.

A roller 46 roll-motioned at a lower surface of the lifting frame 30 ismounted at one end of the driving arm 42, and a hinge shaft 48 ismounted at another end of the driving arm 42. The hinge shaft 48 isrotatably supported by a support bracket 50 fixed to the rear surface ofthe lower door 22.

A first stopper 52 and a second stopper 54 for limiting a rotation rangeof the driving arm 42 are respectively formed at side surfaces of thesupport bracket 50.

The driving power transmitting unit comprises a driving gear 60 fixed tothe rotation shaft 46 of the driving motor 44 and arranged in thesupport bracket 50, and a driven gear 62 fixed to the hinge shaft 48 andgear-engaged with the driving gear 60.

A pair of the driving arms 42 are arranged at both sides of the liftingframe 30, and the two driving arms 42 are connected to each other by thehinge shaft 48.

In the driving power transmitting unit, when the driving motor 44 isdriven, the driving gear 60 is rotated and the driven gear 62gear-engaged with the driving gear 60 is rotated. As the result, thehinge shaft 48 is rotated and thereby the driving arm 42 is rotated.

A first switch 66 and a second switch 68 adjusted by a user for drivingthe driving motor 44 in a forward direction or a backward direction areinstalled at the door 22. That is, when the user adjusts the firstswitch 66, the driving motor 44 is forward driven thereby to lift thebasket 20. On the contrary, when the user adjusts the second switch 68,the driving motor 44 is backward driven thereby to lower the basket 20.

The buffer 70 is preferably constructed as a shock absorber.

As shown in FIG. 7, the buffer 70 comprises a cylinder 72 fixed to therear surface of the door 22 and containing fluid therein, a piston 76movably arranged in the cylinder 72 and having a fluid channel 74through which the fluid contained in the cylinder 72 passes and a flowresistance is generated therein, an operation rod 78 connected to thepiston 76 and extending towards an upper side of the cylinder 72 thus tobe in contact with the lifting frame 30, and a spring 80 for providingan elastic force to the operation rod along a direction that theoperation rod is extended.

A contact portion 82 contacting the buffer 70 when the lifting frame 30is lowered is formed at the lifting frame 30. Also, a support plate 84contacting the contact portion 82 when the lifting frame 30 is loweredis formed at an upper surface of the operation rod 78.

A buffering pad 86 for attenuating a shock generated as the liftingframe 30 is in contact with the support plate 78 when the lifting frame30 is lowered is installed at the lower surface of the contact portion82 or at the upper surface of the support plate 84.

The spring 80 is preferably constructed as a compression coil spring. Alower end of the spring 80 is supported by a spring seat 88 formed at anouter circumferential surface of the cylinder 72, and an upper end ofthe spring 80 is supported by the support plate 84 formed at the uppersurface of the operation rod 78.

An extended length of the operation rod 78, a length of the spring 80,and an elastic coefficient of the spring 80 are properly set withconsideration of a weight of food stored in the basket 20.

An operation of the basket lift apparatus according to the presentinvention will be explained as follows.

FIG. 8 is a lateral view showing a state that the basket lift apparatusof the refrigerator according to the present invention has been lifted.

When the user pulls the door 22 forward, the lifting frame 30 is slidalong the guide rail 26 and is drawn out from the lower cooling chamber18. At this time, the basket 20 positioned on the lifting frame 30 isdrawn out.

Under the state, when the first switch 66 mounted at a front surface ofthe door 22 is pressed, the driving motor 44 is forward driven.

As the result, the rotation shaft 46 of the driving motor 44 is rotated,the driving gear 60 fixed to the rotation shaft 46 is rotated, and thedriven gear 62 gear-engaged with the driving gear 60 is rotated, therebyrotating the hinge shaft 48 in a forward direction. As the result, thedriving arm 42 fixed to the hinge shaft 48 is rotated and the roller 46mounted at one end of the driving arm 42 is roll-motioned at the lowersurface of the lifting frame 30, thereby lifting the lifting frame 30.

When the user presses the second switch 68 after taking food out of thebasket 20 or storing food in the basket 20, the lifting frame 30 islowered. Under the state, the buffer 70 is operated thereby to attenuatea shock generated when the basket 20 is lowered.

An operation of the buffer 70 will be explained more specifically. Whenthe lifting frame 30 is lowered, the contact portion 82 formed at thelifting frame 30 is in contact with the support plate 84 formed at theupper surface of the operation rod 78. Then, the operation rod 78 isdownward moved by the weight of the basket 20, and the fluid containedin the cylinder 72 passes through the fluid channel 74 formed at thepiston 76 thereby to generate a flow resistance. Accordingly, the basket20 is slowly lowered thereby to attenuate a shock generated when thebasket 20 is lowered.

Also, a shock generated when the contact portion 82 and the supportplate 84 are in contact with each other is attenuated by the bufferingpad 86 formed at the contact portion 82 and the support plate 84.

When the basket 20 is lifted, the operation rod 78 is extended by theelastic force of the spring 80 and returns to the original state.

Effects of the refrigerator having the basket lift apparatus accordingto the present invention will be explained.

Since the basket lift apparatus is provided at the basket of therefrigerator, the user can take food stored in the basket out withoutbending his waist by lifting the basket thereby to enhance the user'sconvenience.

Also, since the buffer is installed at the basket lift apparatus, adamping force is generated when the basket is lowered thereby toattenuate a shock generated when the basket is drastically lowered.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described embodiments are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsspirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore allchanges and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of theclaims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intendedto be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a body having a cooling chamber; a doorfor opening and closing the cooling chamber; a lifting frame mounted atthe door to be movable up and down and on which a basket is positioned;and a buffer installed at the door for attenuating a shock generatedwhen the basket is lowered.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, furthercomprising a driving motor for lifting the lifting frame.
 3. Therefrigerator of claim 1, further comprising a lifting arm contacting thelifting frame and hinge-connected to the door for lifting the liftingframe.
 4. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the door is provided witha lifting rail for guiding the lifting frame to be movable up and down.5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the lifting frame is providedwith a contact portion contacting the buffer when the lifting frame islowered.
 6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the contact portion isprovided with a buffering pad for attenuating a shock generated when thecontact portion comes in contact with the buffer.
 7. The refrigerator ofclaim 1, wherein the buffer is constructed as a shock absorber.
 8. Therefrigerator of claim 1, wherein the buffer comprises: a cylinder fixedto the door and containing fluid therein; a piston movably arranged inthe cylinder and having a fluid channel through which the fluid passesand a flow resistance is generated therein; and an operation rodconnected to the piston and contacting the lifting frame.
 9. Therefrigerator of claim 8, wherein the operation rod is provided with asupport plate contacting the contact portion formed at the lifting frameat an upper end thereof.
 10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein thesupport plate is provided with a buffering pad for attenuating a shockgenerated when the support plate comes in contact with the contactportion of the lifting frame.
 11. The refrigerator of claim 8, whereinthe buffer further comprises a spring for providing an elastic force tothe operation rod along a direction that the operation rod is extended.12. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the spring has a lower endsupported by a spring seat formed at an outer circumferential surface ofthe cylinder, and an upper end supported by the support plate formed atan upper surface of the operation rod.
 13. A refrigerator, comprising: abody having a cooling chamber; an upper cooling chamber arranged at anupper side of the body; a lower cooling chamber arranged at a lower sideof the body, and having a door opened back and forth; a lifting framemounted at a door to be movable up and down for loading a basket; and abuffer installed at the door for attenuating a shock generated when thebasket is lowered.
 14. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the liftingframe is provided with a contact portion with which the buffer comes incontact when the lifting frame is lowered.
 15. The refrigerator of claim14, wherein the contact portion is provided with a buffering pad forattenuating a shock generated when the contact portion comes in contactwith the buffer.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the buffer isa shock absorber.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the buffercomprises: a cylinder fixed to the door and containing fluid therein; apiston movably arranged in the cylinder and having a fluid channelthrough which the fluid passes and a flow resistance is generatedtherein; and an operation rod connected to the piston and contacting thelifting frame.
 18. The refrigerator of claim 17, wherein the operationrod is provide with a support plate contacting the contact portionformed at the lifting frame at an upper end thereof.
 19. Therefrigerator of claim 18, wherein the support plate is provided with abuffering pad for attenuating a shock generated when the support platecomes in contact with the contact portion of the lifting frame.
 20. Therefrigerator of claim 17, wherein the buffer further comprises a springfor providing an elastic force to the operation rod in a direction thatthe operation rod is extended.